Project Factors (Essay Sample)

Project Factors Student Name Institutional Affiliations Instructor Date Project Factors Introduction and Project factors Projects can be brought to premature termination for a variety of reasons, ranging from the natural expiration of a project to unexpected changes in the external environment. Premature termination of a project can be a result of an organizational change, budget constraints, or even a change in scope or objectives (Schmidt, 2021). Whatever the reason, premature termination can have a significant impact on a business. It can derail progress, disrupt workflow, and create financial losses. It is therefore important to understand why projects may be brought to premature termination, in order to develop strategies to ensure successful completion. According to Pinto (2020), there exist six categories of project factors which should be reviewed periodically in order to determine if there are any significant changes occurring that may warrant an early termination of the project. These six factors include: Static factors which are factors that are independent of the project and should be predetermined before the project begins such as budget, benefits, costs, intermittent rewards, political forces etc (Helmold, 2022). The second category is Task-Team Factors which are factors that relate to the characteristics of the project team, such as their experience level, communication dynamics, and technical skills etc. Thirdly there is the Sponsorship Factors which are factors that relate to the project's sponsor and stakeholders including the level of commitment, support, and participation of the sponsor and stakeholders. Fourthly, there are Economic Factors which entail the economic considerations that the project team must take into account, such as the cost of materials, labor, and other resources. The fifth category is the environmental Factors which are external environmental factors that may influence the project, such as political, legal, and regulatory changes (Pinto, 2020). Finally the User Factors are factors that relate to the end-users of the project, such as their technical proficiency, feedback, and expectations. The technical project and circumstances/factors leading to early termination The project I am going to discuss is an imagined one which involves the construction of a new bridge linking two small towns in rural New England. The project was originally planned to be completed in a year, but due to numerous economic and environmental factors, it has become a candidate for early termination. This project is considered a candidate of early termination following an inter-play of several project factors. The primary factor at play here is the economic factor which rounds up to the cost of the whole project. The bridge was initially estimated to cost around $20 million, but due to rising material and labor costs, the final cost of the project has ballooned to over $30 million. This increase in cost has put a strain on the budget of the local government, which is already strapped for cash due to the economic downturn. As a result, the local government has decided to terminate the project early before it can cause further financial strain. This adds up to the static factor of the sunken cost of close to the initial estimated budget of $20 million already incurred but cannot be recovered. In addition to the interplay of economic and static factors, there are also environmental factors at play causing a halt to the project. The bridge was to be constructed over a protected wetland, which is home to a variety of wildlife and plants. The construction of the bridge would have negatively impacted the wetland, and the local government decided it was best to terminate the project early so as not to cause further damage to the environment. Notwithstanding, the user factor also played a role in the early termination of the bridge project. After the initial plan for the bridge was unveiled, local residents began to voice their concerns about its design. They were concerned that the bridge would be too large and overpowering and they feared its failure and also that it would disrupt the natural beauty of the area. As a result, the local government decided to terminate the pr...